Anika Thurow has already completed her Masters studies in Work and Organizational Psychology. After semesters in Maastricht, Valencia and Lüneburg, she wrote her Master's thesis on Knowledge Hiding as a Counterproductive Work Behaviour. What she remembers most is the strong international component of the programme, the high proportion of research and the close relationship with the lecturers.

Why did you decide to study Work and Organizational Psychology?

I am just as interested in research as I am in the application of scientific findings in practice. The study programme deals with both fields in detail, which is why I chose this particular Masters programme. Since the universities have different emphases here, we were given an insight into both fields. In this respect, we were able to benefit from "the best of three worlds". Another important factor for me was the international orientation of the Masters programme. I had already completed a Bachelor degree in English language and had the ambition to do the Masters degree in English language as well, especially since I wanted to preserve the opportunity to work in an international context.

What did you study before you started your Masters degree and where were you able to build on your previous studies?

Before I started my Masters, I did a Bachelor in Psychology, so I was able to pick up a lot of content from it during my Masters. I acquired a pretty good basic knowledge through some research methods and statistics courses, which the Masters programme built on well. Although we also discussed analyses and concepts in statistics that I already knew from the Bachelor programme, I found it very useful and helpful to repeat these points again, internalise them and bring everyone up to the same level. The way of thinking also builds very well on the principles of critical thinking that I was taught in the Bachelor. Courses like Critical Reading in particular helped me a lot in this aspect. In terms of content, most of the topics were new to me and I was able to develop a lot and learn a lot.

How did you cope with the disciplines of the degree programme that were new to you?

Although the Masters programme followed on very well from the Bachelor programme, the new disciplines were still a challenge. However, the good basics that I was taught in the Bachelor helped me a lot to cope well with the new disciplines. In addition, we often started with the basics in more demanding subjects, such as statistics, so that everyone was on the same level and could then build on that. It helped a lot to recall the basics.

How would you rate the research component in your study programme?

In my estimation, the research portion is about 75%. The second semester in Lüneburg and the fourth semester, in which we wrote the Masters dissertation, were very much characterised by research, but there were also practical aspects interspersed in all semesters. In Maastricht in particular, we looked at many practical aspects in order to first get an overview of the literature. The practical orientation of this semester was related to the fact that we did the courses of the one-year practically oriented WOP Masters. In order to increase the research part, we had a few additional tasks in the semester that were research-oriented.

Your study programme takes place not only in Lüneburg, but also in Maastricht and Valencia. What’s special about Maastricht and Valencia? What did you particularly like about Lüneburg and Leuphana?

What made Maastricht special was the PBL system. It consisted of finding answers to specific problem statements on various topics through different articles. Each week we dealt with a different topic and were thus able to dive deep into the labour and organizational literature. We got a good overview of the literature there. In Valencia we focused on interventions and learned a lot about intervention design and intervention research. We analysed interventions and also designed our own interventions, which was a completely new field for me. The semester at Leuphana was characterised by the strong focus on methods and statistics. I especially liked the high level of personal responsibility that the students were given. We had large projects in almost every subject that we worked on throughout the semester. The projects were mostly research proposals, but we also conducted our own study as a team. Despite the personal responsibility, we definitely had enough guidance and support from the lecturers. In my perception, the professors found a good balance between support, guidance and freedom.

What is the relationship with the other students and the lecturers like?

Because there were so few of us, I felt that we had a close relationship with the lecturers. Especially in contrast to the anonymity I experienced my Bachelor, I found the personal relationship with the lecturers very valuable. Everyone was always very eager, helpful and listened to us and took our feedback very seriously. There was respect on the part of both the students and the lecturers, and I still feel that I can approach the lecturers at all three universities if I have a question. The personal relationship with the lecturers is also one of the most positive points for me about the Masters programme. We also had a good relationship among the students. We always helped each other, because the number of tasks was not insignificant.

What did you write your Masters dissertation about and how did you come up with the topic?

I wrote my Masters dissertation on Counterproductive Work Behaviors, more specifically on Knowledge Hiding. Laura Venz, the supervisor of my Masters dissertation, had sent me a few articles that served as inspiration for choosing a topic. One of them was a paper on Knowledge Hiding, which I found very interesting. I then read further into the topic and found more and more aspects that I found interesting. At some point I had compiled a whole list of interesting variables and potential research questions, which I then broke down together with Laura. After each meeting, new aspects or perspectives came up that I researched and at the end of the process of reading and discussing, there was my final research question.

What are your plans now that you have completed your Masters degree?

I am currently doing an internship in a science-related consultancy. The internship ends at the end of March and currently I am not completely sure what I will do then. At the moment I'm thinking of doing a PhD or looking for another internship or a job in consulting.

To whom would you recommend this degree programme?

I would definitely recommend the programme to anyone who wants to do a PhD or pursue an academic career. You will be very well prepared for this! But even if you are not sure about your professional future yet, the degree programme offers a lot. I can continue to apply a lot of the content in my current internship. In my opinion, it is important to have a desire to think and work scientifically and to think critically about research. Even if you are aiming for a practical career, but are interested in better understanding research and thus also results, the degree programme is a good choice.

Interviewer: Jonas Kernein